Boulevard x Firestone Walker: Barrel-Aged Wheat Wine

When Friends Get Together

September 2022

Far across fields of golden grain lay two breweries. These breweries were longtime friends and dreamed of doing a beer together. Full of happenstance and mystery arose the Wheat Wine. Brewed individually and then blended, this beer combines the best of the West and the Great Plains in a strong ale that doesn’t hold back.

“This beer speaks with wood and grapes.” -Quinn Reeder, Lead Brewer – Barrel Program

OK SO GIVE ME THE DETAILS.

Two beers with the same mission, brewed and aged in a way that reflects each brewery’s program and how they differ – then combined into one. This collaboration features both brewery’s innovation skills: A wheat wine blended and fermented with white grapes from Paso Robles, and a wheat wine fermented with Kveik yeast in Kansas City.

The beers were barrel-aged in a mix of whiskey, rye, and chardonnay barrels then blended together producing a dry, light-bodied barrel-aged wheat wine. With a clean fermentation profile, the wheat, wine, whiskey, and wood all sing together.

What’s a wheat wine?

A Wheat Wine is similar to a barleywine but differs with the inclusion of wheat in the malt bill. Wheat brings a smoother mouthfeel (thanks to added proteins) and just a hint of sweetness to the already boozy style. Attributed to a homebrewer’s mistake in 1988, the Wheat Wine is a hard style to get just right, but when you do, it’s magic.

“Whiskey Barrel Wheat Wine is a limited barrel-aged beer that lives up to its heady name. The journey began when we created a base beer with an elevated percentage of wheat in the grist bill, then co-fermented it with a small lot of Paso Robles-grown white wine grapes. Finally, we aged the beer for a full 18 months in premium wheat whiskey barrels, the perfect vessels for harmonious maturation of this wheat-centric beer. The resulting creation showcases fine cereal grain notes along with hints of sweetness and acidity from the wine grapes, all underpinned by classic whiskey undertones.“

-Eric Ponce, Barrel Manager Firestone Walker

BEER INFO 

ABV: 9.9%

IBU: 20

Malts – Wheat, whiskey, wood, and wine

Aroma: Woody and wine, punchy fruit driven by yeast

Balance: The base beer lets the barrel take the stage

Pair with a LAMB, ROAST DUCK, or aged Gruyeres, and have a delicious time.

Available in 4-packs of 12oz bottles and on draft, Barrel-Aged Wheat Wine will begin hitting shelves and taps in the KC area in October with other areas to follow. Once it’s out in the world, our boulevard.com/finder can help you track it down.